ELLIOT.
I found Seraphine waiting for me in the rose garden just as the sun was starting to set.
She was standing near the stone bench where we used to sit together years ago when our relationship had been nothing more than a carefully orchestrated political arrangement that benefited both our families.
I’d known she would seek me out eventually. Seraphine never left things unresolved.
“Elliot,” she said when she spotted me approaching. Her voice was soft and familiar in a way that made me want to turn around and walk in the opposite direction. “Thank you for meeting me.”
“You said it was important.” I stopped a few feet away from her and kept my hands in my pockets. Distance. I needed to maintain distance. “What do you want, Seraphine?”
“We should talk.” She took a step closer to me
